Question about heat forming in the bowl while smoking.

[jobacco]

Hi,

some might know that im pretty much a novice at pipe smoking .

When i read here on the forum or other page about how to smoke pipe and all that i always hear about not letting the bowl getting too hot, take slow puff and all that.

The thing is , even if i take slow puff and take my time to smoke the pipe my bowl always gets hot, not burning hot but hot.

I seem a little concern about that because when i smoke a pipe i always touch my bowl to see if its getting too hot.

Sometimes it gets at the limit of being too hot but it seem like i cant do anything about it.

Another thing is i smoke outside, because my wife is non smoker and we have a baby so theres no way i smoke inside.

Also i smoke aromatic at the moment.

Do you think that i should be concern about that heat thing or should i just enjoy my pipe the way it gets?

Thanks.

 

[tokerpipes]

You have a few factors that can get the bowl hot. Of course its going to get hot you are smoking a hot ember of tobacco, but the fact that its aromatics will increase the amount of heat. Just smoke slower in between puffs/ sips. Being outside wont effect the heat unless it is windy. the wind will keep the embers hot and continue to accelerate the burning of the tobacco. use a wind cap, tounge the stem hole, or thumb the top of the bowl in between puffs/ sips. You never want the bowl getting hotter than you can touch there will be a chance of cracking the bowl briar or meer. If it gets too hot to touch put the pipe down in a non windy spot to mellow out and come back to it, if it goes out just re-light it. I use the word sip because its not a hard draw on the bowl, a smooth slow draw that will keep the ember from getting to hot.

 

[nsfisher]

Could be one of a dozen reasons mate. First 2 questions that are most important though are; what blend are you smoking and what pipe are you smoking? Some blends tend to run hot whether baccy is dry or wet and some pipes tend to run hot as well. Aro's almost always run a bit hotter and cheap pipes also tend to run hotter. And of course there is packing, drying, puffing etc.

 

[frennchy11]

Try drying it out a bit. That's what usually works for me.

 

[orionpyoung]

I had this problem at the start also. I found out that I was over packing my bowl with moist tobacco. Try to let the blend dry for about 20 to 30 minutes before packing your pipe. When packing make note of how hard you are tamping the tobacco down and use less force each time till you find the right pressure for that tobacco/pipe combo. The biggest thing that helped me was to take very gentle and long draws of the pipe. I only puff to help a pipe relight, otherwise long draws work best for keeping the ember glowing.
Now that I think back, I pretty much ignored all the articles I read about pipe smoking at that point and was just rushing the whole process. Slowing down and heeding the advice of the experienced pipers makes the whole experience much more enjoyable!

 

[jobacco]

I will post a picture later of the pipe that i have and the tobacco.

The pipe is a Genod and the tobacco is Blatter and Blatter Executif blend, its an aromatic.

 

[tbradsim1]

Hold the bowl and count to 5 if you can do this the temp is under 150 degrees, I spent many years at a plant checking bearings in pumps, if you have to pull away before 5 it"s too hot Tbradsim the old cajun

 

[spartan]

My thoughts on the subject:
If the bowl is too hot to hold at ANY point then there is a problem somewhere
1. The tobacco smokes hot
2. The walls of the pipe are extremely thin
3. You're smoking very aggresively
4. The tobacco is too dry, too wet.
5. You're actually smoking a fire starter, and you should be heading to a hospital immediately.
1) If the tobacco is a goopy aro with lots of sugars it's naturally going to smoke hot and you'll have to try extra hard to puff very slow. Even then that might not work, try a different pipe, never buy it again.
2) If the walls of the pipe are very thin then it will be hard to gage whether or not you're actually smoking too hot. You may just need a higher quality pipe that can handle the tobacco better. Some pipes will have "hot spots", or flaws, in the briar that will become extremely hot. These hot spots have a high risk of burning out if a good cake is not developed inside the bowl.
3) If you are smoking too fast then here's an idea to keep in your head while smoking. You should try to keep your ember somwhere between life and death. It shouldn't be Bright red hot and powering a steamboat. It should be teatering on the brink of extinction.
4)Now if the tobacco is TOO dry and you're smoking a sugary aromatic then that's like throwing a match onto a pile of dry tinder soaked with excellerant. Bad idea. If the tobacco is too wet then you will HAVE TO puff very hard to keep it from going out all the time, which will result in a hot burn, and very wet tobacco at the bottom of the bowl that you will not be able to get to any time soon.
You must find a balance in the moisture of your tobacco. Dry enough that it burns with ease, but moist enough so that it doesn't catch fire to your house.

 

[jobacco]

Heres 2 pictures of my current setup:

 

[rcstan]

1) If the tobacco is a goopy aro with lots of sugars it's naturally going to smoke hot and you'll have to try extra hard to puff very slow. Even then that might not work, try a different pipe, never buy it again.

I'm with you on this one based on the info provided. It's the baccy and not the pipe.
I have yet to find an aro that does NOT burn hot with MY smoking cadence. YMMV ::
One baccy to "learn" a good pace is a straight VA, like MB VA#1, which will bite like a ferret if pushed even the least bit. Or something with a high nicotine content, like Peterson's Irish Flake, which .... well .... I still can't and won't risk "huffing and puffing" it or it will send me to the floor.

 

[pawpaw]

nice looking pipe and may I add all pipes get warm/hot you are burning tobacco. The trick is knowing the diffrence between TOO hot and warm/hot and if the pipe has less than 10 bowls smoked in it you just may need to get a better cake in it.

 

[orionpyoung]

@rcstan glad to hear that I'm not the only one! I only smoke this on a full stomach and only half a flake. It's amazing how long half a flake will last. This is a real good teacher for patience!
@pawpaw good point, jobacco have you properly broken in that bowl?
This of course is a widely debated, but I have had great luck with only smoking quarter bowls for 12 smokes, 24 half bowls and then the big time! After every bowl I stick a pipe cleaner in it and let it cool for about an hour. Then I break up the ash and dottle, cover and shake the pipe then empty into the trash. Remove pipe cleaner and let her sit for at VERY least a day. It is a long process indeed but consider the reward of a pipe that you can either sell down the line or leave for the next generation... Not to mention it sure does build as you get close to that first full bowl, feeling like you really earned it!
P.S. not to turn this into a mini-essay on pipe care, but I believe the above is just a foundation of good pipe care. My own process is slightly longer then the for mentioned steps. One thing I find interesting about pipe tobacco smoking is all the different facets of the hobby. The act itself is a simple singular experience of sitting down and smoking a bowl of tobacco, that's the one thing we all share in common. Beyond that you can spend as much time obsessing over the various facets of the art of smoking a pipe! I'm laid up on workmen's comp right now... so my pipes are VERY clean, and all my tobacco is open and in regular rotation!

 

[jobacco]

When i finish smoking a bowl i stir/brake the ash left in the pipe and i pass a pipe cleaner in it, is it the right way to do it, straight after smoking or should i let the pipe cool before doing that?

 

[rcstan]

When i finish smoking a bowl i stir/brake the ash left in the pipe and i pass a pipe cleaner in it, is it the right way to do it, straight after smoking or should i let the pipe cool before doing that?

If the situation permits, that's what I do. Scoop out the ashes, sop up anything in the stem with a pipe cleaner. Just don't take the stem apart until the pipe has cooled down ( at least an hour )

 

[cortezattic]

Smoke a flake tobacco -- folded.

Most cube-cut tobaccos, that look like nuggets (eg. C&D's Crooner) will burn slowly too.
There's reason to believe that the really high grade pipes with perfectly tight, vertical straight grain will

smoke noticeably cooler to the touch. Lawrence, one of the mods here, may have a more informed opinion on this.
Given your outdoor conditions, a Meerschaum-lined briar might work well for you.

 

[orionpyoung]

As stated, I put the cleaner in directly after smoking, get that moisture soaked up quick. Then I let the pipe cool as I imagine the drying time lets the dottle to dry a bit and let the ash dry a bit.
But, once again, large debate amongst pipers on how much cake to build and how much time to take building the cake. I myself am a minimalist in the cake department. I think it's important to build a good bit at the bottom (Where most burn out occurs) and just enough on the sides to keep good flavor in the bowl.
It's really just all opinions based on experience and advice from the sages! Read some of the old posts on the subject and go with which ever one makes more sense to you. Just make sure the smoke is enjoyable, if not keep trying something new.

 

[hnryclay]

Cake is not the problem cadence with your smoking is, you need to "sip" the tobacco not huff and puff it like a dragon. I suggest you do the following with the tobacco you already have;
1) Pack the bowl loosely, inspect the draw before you light it, not to free, and not to the point where you have to "suck" the air through.
2) Light the tobacco thoroughly, make sure the entire top of the tobacco is charred.
3) Set the pipe down and walk away for 30 minutes to an hour.
4) Return, relight, and smoke slowly. If the pipe goes out it is fine. DO not hurry your pace to keep it lit!
5) Enjoy.

 

[hobie1dog]

Where is that thread from 2 years ago on this topic?

 

[cortezattic]

Do you mean the thread you started? :rofl:

 

[baronsamedi]

Try a wind cap, too. I almost always smoke outside. I finally tried a wind cap this week and it really helped with the quality of my smoke on a windy day! Most places have them for $3 or so.